


What it Means

by ariannadi



Series: Fire Emblem Hell [13]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Cute Kids, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family, Fluff, Gen, Post-Canon, Post-Time Skip, Spoilers my dudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-10 09:20:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20133082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariannadi/pseuds/ariannadi
Summary: What does it mean to be a prince? The young heir of Faerghus learns the answer one particular day.





	What it Means

**Author's Note:**

> Sort of follow up to Concerning Matters :3

“He’s in here, Your Majesty,” the maid known as Nan said to Dimitri with a bow, which the king nodded to in response as he stepped inside the room she had led him to.

There on the carpet sat his five-year-old son, his dark teal hair falling around his eyes in a disarray as he clashed a pair of toy soldiers against one another repeatedly. Dimitri chuckled at the voices the little boy impersonated, wondering if he himself ever did such a thing at that age.

”Nikolai,” Dimitri addressed, and the child looked up in an instant, his partially-toothed smile gleaming as he rose to his feet.

”Hi, Papa!” Nikolai answered as he bolted over, latching himself onto Dimitri’s leg and peering upward with eyes that reflected his father’s. “Wanna play swords?”

Dimitri knelt down to scoop his son into his arms, then carried him out of the prince’s playroom and into the hallway outside. “Not right now, Nikolai,” he said, which earned him an adorable pout. “I have someone I’d like for you to meet. You remember how your mother and I told you you would soon have a sister or brother? Like Aunt Ingrid and Uncle Sylvain’s children?”

”Yeah! I was sooo excited!” Nikolai exclaimed, bouncing up and down. “Is that who I’m meeting? Will they want to play swords with me?”

Dimitri snorted, knowing it would likely take some time before his son truly understood the situation. “She’s a little too small for that right now.” he told the boy, “But once she’s older I’m sure she would love if you taught her everything you know about training.”

”She’s a girl?” Nikolai asked as he tilted his head, and Dimitri nodded with a smile. “That’s okay though!” his son continued, “Uncle Gilbert can teach her how to fight, too! Just like Mama!”

”All in good time, love,” the king agreed, pressing a kiss to his son’s nose and prompting a giggle from the boy. “For now, she just needs to focus on eating, sleeping, and growing. You’ll see for yourself. We’re almost there.”

Dimitri came to the large doors that were the entrance to his and his wife’s chambers, and knocked once with his free hand before quietly pushing them open. As expected, the moment Nikolai saw his mother sitting in the rocking chair near the fireplace in their greeting room he began squirming excitedly, coaxing Dimitri into setting him on the floor so he could run to her.

”Mama!” Nikolai greeted her happily, and Byleth smiled down at him, leaning forward to press a kiss to his head. Such an action took some visible effort, for she cradled a swaddled bundle against her chest and was trying her best not to disturb it. 

“Hello, sweetie,” the woman lovingly replied, “Have you been a good boy for Nan while I’ve been indisposed?”

Nikolai nodded vigorously. “Yes, Mama! I wanted to see you soooo bad but Nan said I had to wait and behave for a couple days and then Papa came and got me and said I get to meet my new brother or sister so here I am!” Although the boy was but a mere couple feet tall, that didn’t stop him from standing straight and true as he went off about his accomplishments.

Truly the workings of a king-to-be, Dimitri thought with a smile.

Byleth listened intently as their son rambled on about what he had done the last few days, for the child hadn’t been allowed to be in his mother’s company during the labor and for a short while after. Motherhood came almost as naturally to Byleth as teaching had, and the bond that she shared with their son was something unique in of itself. Dimitri almost envied the way Nikolai would light up in her presence, though he took pride in the fact that so far he was the only one who could calm their daughter down when she started fussing. 

“Nikolai,” Byleth uttered softly once the boy had finished recounting everything, and lowered her arms so that their son might see what she carried. “This is your baby sister, Ceres.”

While Nikolai had been blessed with Byleth’s original hair color and Dimitri’s eyes, making him a spitting combination of the two, their daughter had also inherited the latter feature as well as the Blaiddyd’s distinct golden hair. Upon her arrival, a majority of the elderly midwives had proclaimed her to be Dimitri’s carbon copy.

Regardless, the king found both of his children to be absolutely perfect, for they were born from his beloved Byleth. He adored all three in equal measure, loved and treasured them with his entire heart and soul. As he looked upon his son cooing in awe over his new sister and their mother gazing at them both so fondly, he knew for a fact that he was the most fortunate man to ever exist.

Truly a curious thing to consider, given the circumstances of his past.

”You have to help us watch over her, okay, Niki?” Byleth proceeded to tell the boy as she ran a soothing hand through his messy fringe. “Being her big brother, she will look up to you as she grows, and as a prince you must always make sure that she’s loved and cared for. Can you do that for us?”

”Yes, Mama!” Nikolai agreed, and smiled down at Ceres, who happened to be quite mesmerized by her visitor. “I’ll always protect you, baby sister,” he promised, “And I’m gonna teach you how to fight so you can take down baddies! ...Mama, Papa, when’s she gonna get big so I _can__?_” he questioned in true confusion, lip jutting outward.

”It will be some time, son,” Dimitri sighed in good humor, moving to pick the boy up in his arms once again. “We are happy you’re so eager to get started, though. For now, we should let your mother and sister rest. We can go down to the courtyard and play swords, okay?”

”Yay, swords!” Nikolai cheered, throwing his little fists into the air.

”Have fun you two, try not to scuff up your knees or arms, love,” Byleth directed to their son, who just nodded vigorously once again. Dimitri, eye lidded, leaned over then, pressing a tender kiss to his wife’s lips and then to the top of his daughter’s head. 

“I love you, both of you,” he whispered to Byleth with a bashful smile. 

His beloved returned the gesture, reaching out to run her fingers over his cheek. “We love you, too,” she replied. “We’ll see you at dinner.”

”Bye, Mama! Bye, baby sister!” Nikolai waved to Ceres as Dimitri carried him to the door. “I gotta go get stronger now so I can protect you!”

**Author's Note:**

> The children’s full names are Nikolai Lambert Blaiddyd and Ceres Jeraldine Blaiddyd :) thank you to RemusHawke and WeinieCheeser on twitter for the names!!
> 
> I might write more of them, idk yet. Just needed to get this bit out in the open before it ate me alive lmao
> 
> Edit: apparently I accidentally got heir daughter’s full name perfect because Ceres is the Roman form of Demeter (Dimitri) and Jeraldine literally means “to rule with a spear” xDDD in reality I just wanted her middle name to be an homage to Jeralt.


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